 K.I. Al-Ghani is a special educational needs teacher who has worked for more than 35 years. She is currently a specialist teacher for inclusion support, author and mother of an adult son with ASD, Haitham. Haitham is the illustrator of the books which K.I. has authored on social emotional learning. The following is an overview of the books and my personal opinion for review. These books were purchased from various sources including Amazon and Booktopia. This is not sponsored. The books provide a wonderful way to approach tricky subjects with your children with a target audience of approximately 7-11 years. Each book has valuable information for adults (parents, teachers, therapists) with strategies to address the issues. There are lots of practical strategies that the children in the story use and which can be tried by your children too. The books provide children with "emotional literacy". It gives children and adults a shared language to talk about these issues together. Picture books also allow children to relate to the characters or distant themselves from the characters if needed. It may take time or a later discussion to connect some of the issues in the story with themselves. I do find each of the stories a little long and "wordy", so you may have to gauge your child's attention span. Some stories may need to be read in smaller parts or abbreviated. The pictures provide a talking point and a focal point for children to look at. Another way to engage your children whilst reading these books, is to assign an action for certain key words that are repeated. This could include hand or body movements that represent the words. On the whole, I have found that some of the children I'm working with can't manage the extensive language in the books so it is more helpful for the adults in their lives to read the books instead. Here is a closer look at the books.  The Red Beast: Controlling Anger in Children with Asperger's Syndrome. Back Cover Synopsis: Deep inside everyone, a red beast lies sleeping. When it is asleep, the red beast is quite small, but when it wakes up, it begins to grow and grow. This is the story of how one boy, Rufus, conquered his anger and sent the red beast back to sleep. Opinion: This picture book deals with a child who loses control of their emotions and lashes out. He is encouraged by teachers to use sensory solutions to calm down. The "taking to the sensory room" is a bit upsetting as the teachers drag him there. However, once in the room they offer strategies like breathing, squeezing a ball, taking a drink, popping bubble wrap. The beast within Rufus calms down and he can return to the classroom. I do enjoy reading this book with children who are working through social emotional regulation. It gives us a talking point for thinking about how people feel, what people are thinking, the size of the problem, the size of the reaction and calm down strategies. I think it misses a few things like empathy for Rufus when he is hit, as it paints Rufus as turning into the red beast (like a scary fairy tale) even though the story is saying it is the beast within him. I do like that when the red beast grows, his eyes and ears get small (letting children know when people get upset that it is hard to hear and see what is going on). You may have to think about how your child might react to this imagery. I think it is also important to emphasize that there is red beast in all of us (which the book does at the beginning) and not to single out one child with this issue of difficulty with anger management.  Winston Wallaby Can't Stop Bouncing: What do do about hyperactivity in children including those with ADHD, SPD and ASD. Back Cover Synopsis: Winston Wallaby, like most wallabies, loves to bounce. However, Winston can't seem to ever sit still and when he starts school he needs helps to concentrate...Luckily his teacher Mrs Calm show Winston how to settle down and focus his mind in class, and he learns new ways to help him with touch, feel, attention and awareness. This books was written to help children with ADHD, SPD and ASD to recognize their sensory needs and develop tools to support them. Opinion: This picture books links movement with inattention. It addresses the issue that Winston is trying his hardest but he can't fix the problem on his own. Sometimes his "bouncing" means that he misses instructions, physically hurts someone else or knocks things over. The book shines here when the teacher encourages the whole class to use the sensory strategies so Winston is not always singled out. Whilst Winston has a phrase that he repeats to himself throughout the book "I won't bounce", it would be also great to ask your children to think of other things that he could have told himself (ie. positive self talk).  Panicosaurus: Managing Anxiety in Children including those with Asperger Syndrome. Back Cover Synopsis: Have you ever felt a sense of dread and worry creeping over you? That might be the Panicosaurus coming out to play... Sometimes the Panicosaurus tricks Mabel's brain into panicking about certain challenges, such as walking past a big dog on the street or when her favourite teacher is not at school. With the help of Smartosaurus, who lets her know there is really nothing to be afraid of, Mabel discovers different ways to manage Panicosaurus, and defeat the challenges he creates for her. Opinion: The dinosaur chararacters are linked to parts to the brain to give children information about how our emotions and the brain are connected. Panicosaurus is described as "naughty" from the outset as a trouble maker for the girl character, Mabel. Where the previous book doesn't use "self-talk", this book does! I love the empathy of the fellow students in this book and how the main character is never made to feel "bad" about the difficulties she is experiencing. This book is a great way to talk about what situations might cause a child to be anxious and what strategies they might try. When using this book with one student we created different plans for different situations. I created a Smartosaurus vs Panicosaurus worksheet with a "playground plan". This included a reflection of how panicosaurus might trick us, how our body feels and smartosauraus' plan to solve the problem.  The Disappointment Dragon: Learning to cope with disappointment (for all children and dragon tamers, including those with Asperger Syndrome). Back Cover Synopsis: When things don't go our way, the Disappointment Dragon can come to visit and take us down to his home in the valley of despair... The disappointment dragon visits Bobby when he is not picked for the school football team. He also finds Lucinda when she has to miss an exciting school trip because she has the chicken pox. He even tries to take the whole of Class 3 down to the Valley of Despair when their favourite teacher moves away. Will the Dragon of Hope be able to chase away the Disappointment Dragon and help them to see things more positively? Opinion: This book is divided into 5 stories to introduce and address different ways a child might experience disappointment. This is a difficult topic to address and I have found this is my least favourite of the Al-Ghani picture books. Even though the introduction and the strategy sections of the book warn the adult reading it not to jump in to "fix" the situation and shield children from life's disappointments, I found that the stories do emphasize "banishing" the dragon. When reading these stories (or maybe before), I think it is good to acknowledge that we can all be disappointed and this is a normal reaction when we can't get or do something we want. Maybe it is beyond our control (eg. the weather, or someone else moving) or maybe it is because there are rules that we need to follow (eg. mask wearing, lockdown restrictions). For children, disappointment can hit hard as they can feel that there is very little that they can control or have a voice about. Whilst I agree with the book there are ways to help children to feel more hopeful, there is also more to it that a child might need to work through including perspective, flexible thinking, letting ideas go whilst showing the child empathy.  Super Shamlal: Living and Learning with Pathological Demand Avoidance. Back Cover Synopsis: Shamlal the Camel finds it almost impossible to do all the normal, everyday things that the other camels do. Her first word was "NO" and this is still the word she repeats the most throughout every day. Luckily, Shamlal's parents take her to a psychologist who explains that she has PDA, and gives her tips for how to live and learn with it. Opinion: I think this is a wonderful book for adults. The story clearly describes what is like for the camel who experiences panic when asked to do ordinary activities. It provides ways to help someone who is experiencing this to work through SODA (Switch on the thinking brain, oxygen, distraction and approval) and many more fantastic strategies including ask without asking, using humour, work as a double act, variety is the spice of life, handwriting help, using praise, supporting sensory needs, a typical day and more! In the story itself, the camel goes to a psychologist who gives Shamlal the label "Pathologcal Demand Avoidance". I think for the children I work with, having this label or knowing this is what others are thinking of them... is not necesarily helpful to them. It may be helpful for their parents, however many of the children I see are not diagnosed. For my own use, I leave out the diagnosis and also shorten some of the story telling. It is beautiful story telling, however it makes the book very long to read. This may be a good book for parents or teachers to read across several days in a row.  Are you Feeling Cold, Yuki? Interoception and Internal Body Awareness for Children with ASD, PDA, SPD, ADHD and DCD. Back Cover Synopsis: Yuki the snow monkey lives in Japan with his family and friends. He sometimes find it hard to realise when his body is giving him signals, like when he is hungry or cold. Grandfather helps Yuki to understand what his "funny feelings" mean, and what his brain is trying to tell him. This illustrated book will help children to build interoceptive awareness and gain an understanding of the body's activities. It also includes further information for parents and carers, as well as downloaded activities and strategies for building interceptive abilities. Opinion: I love this book! This is probably one of my favourite books in this collection as it keeps the message simple and clear. Grandfather monkey is kind and takes young Yuki through an interoceptive program. He draws the body outline in snow and explains about skin, the brain and body parts. Grandfather then guides Yuki through a series of actvities to bring awareness to sensations in different body parts and feelings (like hunger, the need to toilet and anger). A complete bonus but a brilliant one is access to the downloadable workbook. There are over 40 pages of information and guided interoception activities. Even if you have no other training, this workbook is easy to follow and user-friendly. There is one more book in the series by Al-Ghani called "The Green Eye Goblin" which I have read but don't own. There is also a series of social stories that she has written on Friendship. I have found these stories useful to use with children to talk about different issues which may affect friendships including learning to share, spitting, winning/losing, when to tell on others, obsessions, personal hygiene, personal space, using tact, being taken advantage of and jealousy. Overall, I highly recommend these books as fantastic resources for social emotional learning. They will teach both the adult reader and the child, providing information about the issue and pratical strategies to help address them. Have you read these books? Do you use them? I would love to hear your comments about these books or others you might use for social emotional learning.   Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia. She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning. Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete). Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT. Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog
Cindy is a contributing author of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team. They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK. The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/yourkidsot YKOT shop: https://www.yourkidsot.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Your-Kids-Ot You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUz_5nYEOCkj32DiOCQo4Q/featured Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourkidsot Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourkidsot/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourkidsot/  Children learn through play. They learn by doing, experiencing things for themselves. We want our children to be safe, however risk tasking is an essential feature of play and healthy childhood development. I was recently interviewed by a current affairs television program about a local playground which has been controversial with some parents regarding it's risks. The segment understandably hasn't aired (and may not air) as I think there have been and continue to be bigger issues in the world right now. I thought I would share some of my thoughts on risky play for children with you here. Australian Playground Safety Standards On the 30th August, 2017 the Australian Standards issued a new Playground Safety Standard for the development, installation, inspection, maintenance and operation of playgrounds. The objective of AS 4685.0 is to minimize the risk of injury to playground users. Professor David Eager, Chairperson of the Technical Committee CS-005, Playground Equipment, "Risk is an inherent feature of playtime and there are many acceptable risks as part of a stimulating and challenging learning environment. The solution is not to wrap kids in cotton wool; the standard is all about challenging children and developing important life skills. AS 4685.0 introduces a risk benefit analysis technique that allows operators and owners of playgrounds to quantify their exposure to hazards using techniques that are simple to apply. Then they can make evidence-based decisions with regard to the maintenance, repairs and the timely replacement of their assets” . CEO of Standards Australia, Dr Bronwyn Evans said “the standard helps promote one of the joys of an Australian childhood. In a world that is increasingly digital it is important that children enjoy physical play environments as well,” added Dr Evans.*  Pioneers Memorial Park playground in Leichhardt Playgrounds in general provide a hands-on opportunity for children to learn about their bodies and the environment that they are interacting with. When you include risky elements in play, children can challenge themselves to try new things and work out what is an acceptable risk for them. There are opportunities for children to have physical challenges with bodies... their balance, their strength and movement. In an experiential and experimental way; children can work out how far, how high, how heavy or how wobbly something is. They can work it out for themselves and make adjustments. Beyond the physical development, educators and occupational therapists get excited by the social emotional skills that are gained from these experiences. Children learn problem solving – trying different ways to work something out, perseverance – trying things over and over, resilience – how to react when something doesn’t work and confidence when something is achieved. This can be impactful to a child's self esteem and also help them to know when to ask for help. What can parents do? Risky play does not mean unsupervised play. It is not an excuse for parents to be looking at their phones rather than their children. I love my phone as much as the next person; but playgrounds should be seen as opportunities for interaction, engagement and supervised play. We as parents can help our children to manage their risks. Firstly, we can stop ourselves from jumping in too quickly to solve the problems. Supervised play does not mean making every decision for our child. We can help our children by giving them the opportunity to problem solve and learn the consequences of their choices. We can help our children to look at a situation or problem from a different perspective – I wonder if that log would work? I wonder if we pushed instead of pulled what would happen? Is that bridge going to be wobbly? What if we held on with two hands? We can help our children with positive self-talk such as “I can do this. Let me try again. I’m not giving up.” We can help our children to try new experiences whether that be climbing a little higher than they have before, spinning on something, touching a new texture, balancing with no hands holding or whatever the new experience might be. Finding a challenge Some children are natural risk takers and others are not. Read more about helping children to manage risks and hazards with the Kidsafe (Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Australia).  We want our children to be risk-takers rather than risk-adverse. We want them to try new things even if that means that they won't be successful. We want them to be problem-solvers and want them to build resilience. We want our children to have the opportunities to develop self esteem and confidence by achieving things for themselves. Children are constantly processing all of the information around them from their own bodies and the environment. Learning through experience, exploration, play and taking risks means that they can learn how to regulate and organize their bodies for daily challenges they might face in life. Are you allowing your child to take risks?   Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia. She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning. Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete). Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT. Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog Cindy is a contributing author of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team. They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK. The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/yourkidsot YKOT shop: https://www.yourkidsot.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Your-Kids-Ot You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUz_5nYEOCkj32DiOCQo4Q/featured Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourkidsot Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourkidsot/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourkidsot/
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AuthorHi, I'm Cindy and I am an Occupational Therapist. I enjoy working creatively with children to see them reach their potential. Read more about me here. 
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Disclaimer: The information on this site is general in nature and should be used for educational and entertainment purposes. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. This blog does not replace formal therapeutic professional advice given by a health professional or medical practitioner. Reviews and endorsements of products will only be made based on my expertise and personal opinion; and deemed worthy of such endorsement. The opinions shared in sponsored content will always be my own and not that of the advertising company or brand. Content, advertising space or posts will be clearly identified if paid, affiliated or sponsored. Affiliate links may be found throughout this website in advertising. This means that if you follow through with a purchase from these links, Your Kids OT will receive a percentage of the sale. Your Kids OT undertakes to meet the requirements of the "Social Media Policy" as published by Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Further information about this policy can be found here.
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AuthorHi, I'm Cindy and I am an Occupational Therapist. I enjoy working creatively with children to see them reach their potential. Read more about me here. 
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